From Perfect to Tragic
by Chucklez-Lives-On
Summary: Piper Clave has everything she ever wanted. Her life is perfect- almost Mary-Sue perfect. But when her best friend is killed in the 97th Hunger Games, it seems as though some of Piper's heart and sanity died with her. She wants revenge on the District's boy who killed her friend. But there are four of them.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey-o! I'm back on the Hunger Games fanfiction archives! I gave up on my first one, but I got inspired to do this one, so hey, why not?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.**

* * *

"Piper! Come on! The train's leaving for District 4 in twenty minutes, and it's going to take us ten to get over there, and I'm sure Leo or you will have forgotten something and we'll have to go back!" Piper's mom called.

"Kay, mom!" Piper called, fixing her hair into pigtails. She dragged her suitcase down the stairs, enjoying the thump it made. "Ready!" she said cheerily.

"Finally." Piper's eight-year-old brother, Leo, grumbled. "Mom, why does Piper always take forever?"

"Because she's Stally-McGolly." her mother said lightly.

"Mom!" Piper whined. "Don't call me that! Just because I'm five doesn't mean I need nicknames!"

"You're quite a spunky five-year-old." her dad said.

Piper bowed and marched out of the house into the car.

When they arrived at the train station, and miraculously they hadn't had to turn back, several assistants took their luggage and escorted them onto the train, one taking Piper's hand and helping her up the steps. This wasn't Piper's first train ride, but she found it very exciting when someone offered their hand to help her up. It made her feel like one of the princesses in the old storybooks her mother sometimes read to her.

The train ride took until the next morning.

Piper, refusing the hand that was offered to help her down the steps, jumped off and took a tumble. Luckily, there was a patch of grass where she had jumped, and all she got were grass stains.

They had a car take them to the hotel they would stay at. Of course, this was one of District 4's finest and only hotels, because for most people, District travel was forbidden. But Piper got a giant room all to herself, with a king-sized bed that was really fun to jump on.

* * *

The next day was their parent's meeting with District 4. Piper and Leo allowed to go out, under the watch of an assistant. But then Piper decided to ditch them because of a modern building with swivel doors. She wanted to play in the swivel doors. She ran over to them and began to spin. After running around in circles about fifteen times, she stumbled dazedly into the building. It was a lobby area. She stumbled over to a woman behind a desk, hair in a tight bun and horn-rimmed glasses, typing madly at a computer. Piper watched her for several minutes before she looked up. "Hello. What do you want?" she asked.

"What is this building?" Piper asked, unfazed by her rudeness.

"The Tribute training center for District 4."

"Can I go in?"

"What's your name? And your age?"

"Piper Clave, age 5." she said proudly.

"Piper... Clave... age 5..." the woman typed something into her computer. "Why... there is no Piper Clave on this list. And your name sounds like something a District 2 citizen would have."

"That's because I am! I'm visiting District 4 'cuz my parents are District 2 representatives to the Capitol and different Districts-"

"Well, outsiders most certainly aren't allowed in here! Especially District 2. You have your own training center! Get lost, kid!" the woman said angrily. "I have better things to do than deal with brats like yourself!"

"I'm not a brat!" Piper said indignantly. "Just curious."

"Too curious for your-"

"She's with me, Miss Amanda." a soft, somewhat squeaky voice rang out. Piper whirled around to see a girl her age, with long blond hair in a braid, say.

"Why, Tallulah, you've made friends with this District 2 child?"

"Yes." Tallulah didn't hesitate.

"Fine, go on in." Miss Amanda said grumpily. Tallulah skipped towards Piper, grabbed her hand, and skipped to the elevator. Piper, deciding it would be best to play along, skipped with her.

Once they were in, Tallulah dropped the gym bag she had been carrying on her shoulder. "Hi." she said. "I'm Tallulah Florence."

"Piper Clave."

"District 2, huh? That's so cool! I've always wanted to visit different Districts but District travel is forbidden except for ambassadors and those types of people- my parents aren't, they just had to be the owners of a dumb fishing company- I'm assuming you're the daughter of a representative."

"Two, actually." Piper said. "Both of my parents are District 2 representatives to the Capitol and other Districts."

"Cool."

"Thanks for saving me from Miss Amanda. I thought that Peacekeepers or guards were going to come and throw me out or something!"

"No problem. Especially for a friend!" Tallulah smiled.

"We're friends?"

"Why not?"

"Why not." Piper agreed.

Arriving on the floor, Tallulah picked up her gym bag and ran out of the elevator, Piper following more slowly.

"Who did you pick up on the streets, Tallulah?" a man in his twenties sighed.

"Zane, this is Piper! She's from District 2!"

"District...2?" Zane stared at Piper. "How in the name of the sea did she get into District 4?"

"Come on, don't be rude!" Tallulah whined. "Her parents are District 2 representatives and they're visiting District 4! Piper was playing in the glass doors and ran into Miss Amanda 'cuz she wanted to come in and she wouldn't let her so I said she's with me and-" "All right, Piper."

Zane rolled his eyes and beckoned to Piper. "Do you train in District 2?"

"Not me, but I know people who do." Piper said cheerily.

"Not my question." Zane grumbled. "Well, I guess you can stay."

"What are we working on today?" a cute brown-haired boy with nicely tanned skin asked.

"Knives, Kai. Knives. Because none of you are very big or very strong, we're starting simple." Zane said.

"We're the youngest kids to train here. This is only our seventh lesson. Zane's been having us work with traps and knots the last few practices." Tallulah whispered.

Turns out, Piper was a natural knife-thrower. By the end of the day, she could get a dummy's heart almost every time.

The next day, they had to leave. They never stayed at any District for long. Tallulah came to see Piper off. She gave her a big hug. "Will you be back?" she asked.

Piper shrugged. "I hope."

"Here's my address if you do come back! You can come over and play with me or something!" Tallulah said excitedly, handing her a piece of paper, and written in five-year-old penmanship.

Piper grinned and tucked the piece of paper into her back pocket. "Thanks."

While they were on the train, Piper announced she would train to be a Career. When she got home, she and her dad went to the training center to sign her up.

Over the next ten years, Piper stopped traveling with her parents so much. School was getting harder and Career training was more intense. But of course, she always squeezed District 4 into her busy schedule. Despite not seeing Tallulah that often and having other friends in her own District, Tallulah was by far the best friend Piper had.

That's why it hit her so hard when it happened.

* * *

During the 97th Hunger Games, Tallulah volunteered in place of a young girl. Piper had full confidence she would win, and that confidence level rose to almost a sure win for Tallulah, when she made it to the final two after she'd decapitated a fellow Career from District 1. Then it was only her and the boy from District 5.

Tallulah, of course, was the hunter. She tramped through a frozen tundra for a day to reach the boy, who was hidden in a cave in mountains. She was still more fit and healthier than that boy, and it had been three weeks in that arena- but she had bountiful supplies from sponsors, and people she'd killed. He, on the other hand, was down to rationing beef jerky. As in, a strip each day. He had gotten a big side wound and any sponsor money he might've had was used on saving him. Tallulah didn't need anything, and anything she would need would be covered by the sponsor money (of course, Careers in the final two would have a lot of money).

It was ugly. The boy had been guarding his cave for three days without sleep, in fear that the boy from 1, Tallulah's most recent kill, or Tallulah would stab him in his sleep. And yesterday had been the boy from 1's death, and he had been the biggest competitor in these Games. So either from deciding it was now safe or just collapsing from exhaustion of staying awake three whole days, he fell asleep that night.

Tallulah was stealthy, that's for sure, but the boy from 5 was smart. He'd put sticks and crisp, brittle leaves all over the cave floor so even someone as stealthy as she would be noticed.

At the snap of the first twig, the boy was out of his sleeping bag, sword in hand, and they were off, fighting for their lives.

He with his sword, and Tallulah, who had decided to use knives for the event, dueled viciously.

At one point, Tallulah lodged a knife in his shoulder and kicked him in the stomach. He toppled over and his sword fell out his hand. But unfortunately for Tallulah, the sword was still in his reach. Barely, but still. And Tallulah didn't kick it out of the way. As she tried to stab him, the boy was able to grasp his sword and quickly stabbed upwards. The sword plunged into Tallulah's stomach and she fell on top of him, blood splattering everywhere.

The cannon fired a minute later and the trumpets blared.

Piper screamed and buried her head into her pillow. Her best friend was dead.

* * *

The next time she went to District 4, she ran over to Tallulah's old house. "Where's Tallulah's-"

Her mother burst into tears.

Her dad looked somber, but led Piper to the grave.

"Oh, Tallulah..." Piper whispered, kneeling down before the grave. Then she realized that she could do something. "Im going to avenge you. I'm a Career. The boy from 5 will be killed."

After visiting the grave, she went to the Career training center- for the first time since Tallulah died. "Can I go up?" she asked Miss Amanda.

"No." the secretary said grumpily.

"But-"

"You were allowed in because of Tallulah. She's dead now." she said harshly.

"But-"

"NO, Piper."

"Hey, Piper, you can come up with me, if you want." Kai, the boy who had asked about the knives ten years ago and had been Tallulah's boyfriend, offered.

"No, it's okay." Piper slunk out of the building.

* * *

She trained more intensely in District 2 for the next few years.

Three years later, President Rain, the predecessor of President Snow, announced the Quarter Quell. "This year, because it is twice of fifty, this means there will be twice the tributes of the Fiftieth Hunger Games. Four boys and four girls from each District. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

"Four boys, then." Piper muttered. "Tallulah, you will be avenged four times."

* * *

**Well, here you have it- the first chapter of my newest Fanfiction. Hopefully you'll want to read more! **

**-But of course, don't set updating standards very high. The plan is to do at least one or two chapters a week, but I've got a busy schedule, and I've got something in constant demand on the _Warriors _fandom, so that one kinda has to be my main priority. **

**Well, I guess that's it! I'd love to hear feedback as well! **

**-Chucklez**


	2. Chapter 2

**Aw, not much feedback! Pooey. Well, here's the next chapter, for those of you who stuck with this ;)**

**Reply to Reviews:**

**Contrary to Popular Belief: Well, from what I've heard, the children start training at a young age so they're as experienced as they can be when they volunteer. On Hunger Games wiki it states that Careers have "prepared and trained since birth". And you know what I got from that...**

* * *

Strutting with the cocky arrogance of a true Career, ignoring the applause from the streets of District 2 as she went into the Tribute training center (they always honored the trainers/trainees on Reaping Day), Piper felt strangely calm. She would volunteer for the biggest Hunger Games there might ever be. She would avenge Tallulah and she'd bring more honor onto District 2's already-honorable Hunger Games reputation.

"Hello, Piper." the guard standing at the elevator said. "Are you volunteering this year?"

"Hello back, Bryson. And yes, I will be volunteering this year." Piper said.

"That's good. We need some honorable fighters in these Games. We mustn't have a repeat of last year." the guard shuddered. "The girly was a mere bloodbath casualty from the weakling from 6, and the boy, oh, that boy went cannibalistic. Disgraceful! Definitely wasn't the best year for District 2. We must send fighters into the arena to regain lost pride!"

"I'm going to do more than regain District 2's lost pride, Bryson." Piper said coldly.

Bryson knew about her wanting to avenge the District 4 girl- a lot of people did. Plenty thought she was slightly off. Maybe she was, if more people knew the whole story. Her friends, of course, knew it all, and they thought her idea for revenge was perfectly sane.

Strutting into the elevator, she leaned back and sighed. Just before the elevator closed, a boy named Miles Halifax walked in. "Hey, Piper." he said.

"Hello, Miles." Piper replied.

"Rumor's got it you'll be coming in with me," Miles grinned. "Can you confirm these rumors?"

"Yes, I can. With so many tributes being allowed in these Games, a lot of eighteen-year-olds will come in." Piper said.

"Well, I don't know how this is gonna turn out. We're all so tight- us Careers!" Miles sighed.

"We'll deal." Piper said icily.

"You've got to be kidding. You know better than anyone how it's like to lose someone you love." He regretted those words as soon as they came out of his mouth. "Oh, crud... Piper, please forgive me about that..."

Too late. Piper, being freakishly sensitive over that issue and having Career strength, she punched. Hard.

Blood gushed out of Miles's nose. "Geez, Piper!" he clutched his nose. "There's no making friends with you, now, is there?"

"You should know better, Miles." she said coldly. "Moron." she didn't regret what she'd just done one bit.

The elevator opened and both of them stomped out, Miles's t-shirt now stained red. He marched over to the first-aid section, because there are injuries in this building, you know.

Piper went up to a boxing bag and began punching it. "Miles is an idiot. Mason Hesson is a..." she listed a lot of curses. Kyle Hesson is the District 5 boy who killed Tallulah. "Any District 5 boy in these Games better watch out, because I will murder them in the most brutal way I can."

"Piper?" asked a trainer, a victor, a friend of Piper's, named Elissa. "You okay?"

Piper gritted her teeth. "Miles was an idiot in the elevator."

"I swear, that boy says too much for his own good. He speaks his mind, that's for sure. And he doesn't exactly sensor it. I bet he'll wind up giving his strategy away and he'll be dead pretty close to after the bloodbath."

Piper couldn't help but to smile. "You sound like his mother, and he's older than you!"

"By about 23 days!" retorted Elissa. "You know, I wonder if mentors can pick favorites. You know you'd be mine."

"Haha, thanks. And you probably can't, but with some people, I bet they do. Did you see the amount of sponsors the girl from 8 got in the 95th Hunger Games?" laughed Piper.

"Yeah, you're probably right." grinned Elissa. "But thank goodness there's another mentor to deal with the others! Or else, they'll be murdered pretty quickly!"

"That's reassuring." snorted Piper.

"Why would you care? I'll look after you."

"Again, you sound like a mother. I'm also older than you."

"Whatever. You know, I wasn't sure if they'd let me mentor again, after the issues of last year. It was somewhat disturbing- everyone was expecting me to be one of the best mentors, because of how well I handled myself in the 98th Games, but Derrick wouldn't let me help that much, he thought he could handle it all by himself. Well, we know how that turned out. He contradicted almost everything I said! It was ridiculous!"

"Well, you can't let something like that happen this year. Who's your partner these Games?"

"Well, technically, David'll be, but I'm sure half the others will want to put in their opinions for such a big event." Elissa rolled her eyes. The past victors often came along for the ride, as the Capitol basically worshipped them.

"Well, with a forty-five year old such as himself, you should be all good. The excitement must have died down by now." scoffed Piper.

"And the others?"

"You've got more say than them. I'll listen to you more than anyone else."

"A relief someone'll listen." Elissa grinned. "Hey, you better get changed. Reaping starts in about a half an hour."

"All right." Piper opened her bag and pulled out her Reaping clothes. Since she couldn't stand dresses, she had a pair of khakis and a decent pale blue shirt. "My parents would kill me if they saw that I'm gonna wear this. That's why I decided to get changed here."

"Good choice. I bet they expected you to wear the junk that the Capitolites wear on a daily basis." Elissa grinned.

"Yeah, this is what my mom picked out for me to wear." Piper pulled out a short, deep purple dress with small green bows decorating the neck

"Awkward..." Elissa muttered, wide-eyed. She snatched the dress. "Well, too bad for your mother."

"Yeah." Piper laughed, and went into the bathroom and changed into her clothes. She walked back out. "If I had shorter hair, I could pass off for a boy."

"A less-muscular looking boy, at that." Elissa snorted.

"Whatever." Piper groaned. "Let's go."

Together, they went to the Reaping.

The Peacekeeper behind the table, a woman with a long braid and the white uniform, narrowed her eyes at Piper. "Ahem... do you have anything nicer to wear? You... look like a boy."

"Thank you, I know, and yeah, I do, but I like to make a fashion statement." Piper said. She knew better than to be sarcastic to a Peacekeeper, but she couldn't help it.

The Peacekeeper sighed. "I could punish you right now, but if you are who I think you are, I don't think your parents would thank me. You're somewhat early. Where do you live?"

Elissa covered her mouth with her hand to attempt to stop laughing.

"Just down the road, but my parents have already left. I didn't bring my key."

"Well, you've got about fifteen minutes. Go find your parents and get the key. This isn't the time to be making 'fashion statements', it's just a time to be normal."

Elissa snorted and they turned around. "Well done."

They sprinted down the road and into the Career building, where she ditched her bag- and her dress.

Piper sighed, and changed into her dress and the light purple flats that came along with them and pinched her toes. That was that. They walked more slowly to the Reaping this time, because Piper could barely walk in those shoes, let alone run. When they reached the check-in table again, there was a line forming.

The mayor was running through the line, asking, "Has anyone seen Elissa Whitmore? I've been trying to find her, but she seems to be hiding."

"Dang." muttered Elissa. "Mayor Jackson! I'm right here! I just had to help my friend get ready."

"Oh, good. That was kind of you, Elissa, but you should've been here a half-an-hour ago!" the mayor looked frantic, and then he grabbed Elissa's wrist and pulled her off, leaving Piper alone.

Piper put out her hand for her finger to be pricked for sign-in. It was the lady who had ordered her to change. "Thank you, Miss Clave."

Piper groaned. "Why can't you just treat me normally? You would've punished me if I was anyone else's daughter."

"You are a Career, and if rumor's got it correctly, it would be a shame to lose a valuable tribute in District 2's fight for the crown, and your parents have connections. If I harmed you in any way, I would probably be unemployed before they gave me a chance to defend myself. I happen to like my job."

"Hoorah." Piper grumbled.

"Go in."

Piper marched into the town square and whispered, suddenly giddy, to the girl next to her. "A Peacekeeper is afraid of me."

The girl looked at her like she was crazy and then whispered something to the girl next to her. Piper didn't care. She was used to it. A lot of people already thought she was crazy. That was their problem.

About five minutes later, the escort, Jazzie Hathaway, with a golden-colored wig, and a shimmering golden dress. Gold was, Piper assumed, the color of these Games. "Hello! So glad I can be here to participate in such an event!" she said in her silly Capitol accent, finishing with a giggle. "But of course, before the main event begins, may I introduce your mayor, Mayor Jackson!"

Mayor Jackson hurried onto the stage. He looked a bit frazzled. He ran his hand down his suit to smooth it and began. "Welcome to the 100th Hunger Games Reaping," he began. Then he told the story of what used to be North America. And how Panem was formed.

Then he listed the victors of District 2. District 2 has the most victors- 21 of them- more than a fifth of all that there have been. Five of them are dead. The oldest is the victor of the 27th Hunger Games. He's 92 years old and can't get around without a wheelchair. But even the dead ones were applauded for. Elissa, being District 2's most recent victor, got the loudest round of applause. Piper whooped for her best friend.

"Now, let's invite Jazzie back to the stage and the big part of the Reaping can commence!" he winked and hurried offstage.

Jazzie strutted back onto the stage. The Reaping balls were placed on each side of her. "Well, let's get started!" she giggled. "Ladies first!" she plunged her gold-colored, almost claw-like nails into the girls' ball. She groped around, as if trying to find the best one in there. She plucked one out and called, "Amanda Courtsmith!"

A fourteen-year-old girl bit her lip and very slowly, inched towards the stage. Nobody wasted any time.

"I volunteer!" screamed about five girls at the same time.

Piper took a deep breath and screamed over all of them, "I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!"

The fourteen-year-old girl grinned slyly and squeezed in back between her friends. Piper marched to the front of the crowd and leaped onto the stage.

"Ooh, I love your dress!" squealed Jazzie. "I mean, District 2, your first female tribute! What's your name, dear?"

"Piper Clave." Piper said coolly.

"Give it up for Piper Clave!" Jazzie announced.

The audience went nuts. The Games, especially one so big, was huge in District 2. Anything lesser than going nuts wouldn't have done it. Elissa was screaming and whooping at the top of her lungs.

Jazzie let the cheering die down before calling the next name. Then there was another yelling match, a noise that rang out registering as a slap, and a tall girl with thick brown hair walked up onto the stage. "Sadie Forbes." she said before Jazzie could ask.

The audience went even crazier. Fighting for volunteers was also something very exciting- and the excitement was so great for such things this wasn't an uncommon, thing, fighting over who gets to volunteer. Many stage it for attention, and interest in Capitol sponsors. Of course, this mainly happens in District 2. District 1 does it somewhat less than 2, and 4, the most mild of the Career Districts, doesn't do it that much.

This time, Jazzie just took a name from the top. "Kayla Dolan!"

Before anyone could volunteer, a voice screeched, "DON'T ANY OF YOU DARE!" a sixteen-year-old girl with light brown hair and freckles shouldered her way through the crowd.

"Welcome, Kayla!" Jazzie chirped.

The crowd cheered.

The next name was called, the name of a seventeen-year-old girl who looked somewhat repulsed to have been called, then was replaced by the girl who had looked at Piper like she was crazy. Her name was Melanie Redwall.

Then Jazzie moved onto the boys. "Aaron-" They didn't give her a chance to say the whole name before a wrestling match of some sort broke out and Alexander Mason, who was very friendly with Piper and once had one of his own friends killed in the Games, stepped onto the stage.

A young boy, age thirteen, was called up next, and Miles yelled, "I bolunteer!" his nose was bandaged, and then Piper felt slight guilt.

Then two more boys were Reaped, both replaced by volunteers. "Well, give it up for District 2's eight tributes in the 100th Hunger Games!" Jazzie cried.

The audience was crazier than ever.

The Peacekeepers, including the woman who had signed Piper in, formed a circle around them, and they marched into the Justice Building.

Piper was put into a room with a comfortable velvet chair. She ran her finger along the upholstery until her parents and Leo turned up.

"Hey, sis. Knock 'em dead!" was what Leo first said.

Piper snorted. "I plan to. Literally."

"Oh, I was so pleased with Jazzie's reaction about your dress. If she asks, I got it for you at a little boutique near City Circle." Piper's mom said excitedly.

"You will win. I know it." her dad said.

Leo held out his hand. In that was a seashell bracelet- something she had been given from Tallulah when she was six, on her second visit. "So you'll always know what you're fighting for." he said.

Piper smiled. "Thanks, Leo." besides her friends, Leo was the one who really knew how much the Games would mean to her. Leo opened his arms and Piper didn't hesitate to go into them. Her 21-year-old brother, was always there for her. She really hoped that she could manage to go through the Games, kill four boys, be named victor, and get back to him. And of course, her parents and her friends. But mostly Leo. He was a great brother.

Her parents joined in on the hug and they stayed that way until the Peacekeepers took them out and her friends came in. They said that they hoped she would win, that they would have another victor in their circle of friends, but of course, there was emotional moments and they had a group hug.

Then the Peacekeepers took them out and rounded up the tributes and took them to the train station. As soon as they boarded, they left.

Although Piper wasn't new at the train thing and saying good-bye to District 2, she stared out the window, wondering if this would be the last time she ever said good-bye.

She couldn't help it. A tear rolled her down her cheek. She looked at Elissa. "I don't want to die." she mumbled.

Elissa stared at her with a strange intensity in her eyes. "I am entrusted with your life. You will make it home, no matter what I have to do for that to happen."

Piper prayed that this would be true.

* * *

**Please R&R! :)**

**-Oh, and if you've read my other HG story, I'm still willing to have someone adopt it...**


	3. Chapter 3

**I updated! Yay! I'm currently juggling three different stories, so updates may be sparotic... I've got a SYOT, as well, now! Feel free to check it out!**

**Guest: I have somewhat of a rivalry between two of the tributes, and one of the mentors gets into it as well- but it isn't Piper and Melanie. But now that I think of it, nice idea ;)**

**Guest: how could they be related? They're from different Districts, even if her parents travel.**

**Onto the chapter! BTW, I don't own the Hunger Games! **

* * *

_So you'll always know what you're fighting for._ Leo's words rang in Piper's head. She was sitting in a comfortable armchair in her giant compartment on the train, staring as the train moved quickly. After the train left the station, she'd lost all Career confidence. She no longer felt cocky and prepared, but meek, insecure, and alone. She no longer knew if she was fighting to avenge Tallulah, or bring pride to her family and to District 2- or if she was fighting to please the Capitol as one brutally murdered in the biggest Games ever.

She wondered if this train was the train to victory, or if she'd bought a one-way ticket to Hell. She thought of the victor interviews from Districts 1, 2, and 4. Caesar Flickerman always asked about their opinions from the time they'd gotten Reaped to the final battle. One boy from District 4, who happened to be Zane from the training center, won when Piper was three, said he never had any regrets and just got more and more excited as it went on. A girl from 1, who won when Piper was nine, said she never had any doubts. Another boy from 4, who won when Piper was 13, stated that he never felt anything, practically. Elissa, who won when Piper was seventeen, said that she never felt anything below pride and confidence. Piper just felt like throwing up. And was wondering whether she was a true Career or not.

Slowly, she changed out of her ridiculous, Capitol-style dress into a pair of light brown cargo pants and a navy blue t-shirt. She eased her feet out of her too-tight flats and into socks and combat boots she'd found in the closet. A Capitol attendant tapped on her door and told her that lunch was ready.

"I'll be there in a minute." Piper told the attendant through the door. The sound of fading footsteps told her that she'd left.

Piper adjusted the bracelet on her wrist and walked out of her room and into the dining carriage. Standing there, everyone else wolfing down what looked like a delicious meal, they paused and stared at her.

"Oh, Miss Clave, what happened to your pretty dress?" whined Jazzie.

And all iciness returned. "On the floor in my room. I plan on throwing it out."

"Oh, don't do that!" Jazzie gasped. "Please no! I'll take it!"

Piper raised an eyebrow. This lady is one wonky clown of the freak show. "Are you serious?"

"Oh yes! And if I can't fit into it, I'm sure my niece would be able to fit it."

Piper face-palmed. Then she realized that this naïve, fashion-obsessed, ditzy freak of a woman could get her sponsors- the people who could be her lifeline in these Games. "Well, okay then..." she walked back into her room, grabbed her dress and handed it to Jazzie.

"Oh, thank you!" Jazzie winked at her and then she hurried off. She came back a few minutes later in the dress. It actually fit her. She definitely was skinny and about the same height as Piper, so it actually seemed like it was a little big on her. Piper had muscles. Jazzie was a bag of bones with way too much makeup on. "This fits perfectly!" she announced, and then walked back into her room and changed into her clothes.

Piper rolled her eyes and sat beside Elissa. "Quite the idiot."

"Tell me about it." mumbled Elissa through a mouthful of her meal.

Helping herself to a sandwich, something that wasn't too big because she wasn't particularly hungry. The others were raving about the luxury of this. Piper had come close to such luxury before, but never quite like this. This luxury was something special, reserved for tributes. But she still wasn't raving like the others.

The mentors, Elissa and David, whispered some things to each other and then spoke. "Well, you may have seen me around the training center, but you may not really know me. I often train the younger children. I am David Axlehoff, victor of the 72nd Hunger Games. I probably trained you when you were younger- I usually train seven-to-eight year-olds at the training center."

"I think you know me a bit more than him." Elissa said. "I'm Elissa Whitmore, victor of the 97th Hunger Games, and I trained with all of you and usually train your age group."

The youngest Career, Kayla, shook her head. "Not me."

"Fine, 18-year-olds. Don't correct me in the future." Elissa snapped.

Kayla rolled her eyes, but Piper saw her shrink back a little.

They basically spent the rest of the day either locked in their rooms, or exploring the train. But later that day, David called them all into a carriage which had a giant screening room. "We're going to watch the recaps of all the Reapings."

Piper flung herself on one of the armchairs and then Elissa came over. "Move over." she said.

"All right." Piper moved over and Elissa sat down. It comfortably sat both of them.

David turned on the TV and the Reapings began.

An excessive-giggler of an escort bounced onto the stage and began District 1's Reapings. A fifteen-year-old is called and a tan, blond girl almost immediately replaces her. Then more names and more volunteers. A fight when the first boy is called. Another one when the fourth boy is called.

Next, Piper's own District, District 2. Jazzie introduces herself and goes into the Reapings. She calls the name and then the screaming match between the others to volunteer. Then her own voice rings out louder than any of them.

"You have quite the mouth." Elissa snorted.

Piper smacked her arm and continued to watch.

District 3. Skinny, ashen-faced teens are called up and they stumble through the crowd, their eyes wide and their faces, as though they were running to the toilet to vomit.

District 4. The kids are Reaped, all are replaced by volunteers, except for one boy, who insists no one volunteer for him. And, oh... _Kai_! Piper covered her mouth. Kai was her friend, her closest one in District 4 after Tallulah. This means she could be killing a friend. She had done everything to make sure she didn't volunteer with any of her friends, something that kept her from volunteering for several years. And now that she was doing it, she'd forgotten about District 4. Kai could've avenged Tallulah. She knew he had wanted revenge as well.

District 5. Oh, District 5... the girls are called up, and then the boys. One of them, whose name is Lightning, volunteered for his little brother. _He volunteered for a cruel death,_ Piper thought. _And nothing else._

District 6. A merchant's daughter is called up first and she immediately begins to sob uncontrollably. A twelve-year old, too. The second boy to be called is a muscular boy who looked like he could snap his escort's neck for calling his name.

"He'd be a good ally." Elissa told Piper. "You might want to make note of that."

Piper nodded.

District 7 as well, had a twelve-year old boy and muscular boy who didn't look very happy to be called.

"And him." Elissa smiled.

"Don't you think that it'll be a little challenging to get those two as allies? I mean, they don't look very friendly." Piper said.

"I think you could murder him, no matter his strength. Force him, if you have to." Elissa shrugged. "But of course, the alliance is gonna be bigger this year. If you can't or you don't bother, you should be okay."

"We'll see." Piper shrugged.

District 8. A stubborn-looking twelve-year old is called up, and when the escort asks for volunteers, all you can hear is the slight hum of a factory machine from a building nearby.

"That little brat'll be no more than a Bloodbath death, I'm sure." Elissa laughed.

Piper snorted. "Or she'll try to step off of her pedestal too early and she'll be the pre-Game death." she wasn't feeling any weakness anymore. She was feeling snarky and icy.

"Nice." Elissa grinned. "I wonder... can the pedestals be joint and then for a pre-Games event, before the gong goes off, if you could try to push tributes off... that would be cool."

"How can you be so insensitive?" Kayla overheard and was questioning them.

"Why should you care? You're going to end up killing them anyways."

Kayla's voice was full of scorn. "I just feel like there should be some sensitivity."

"Not my problem." Elissa huffed.

"Some mentor you are." snapped Kayla.

"I'm not concerned about you- far from. But you might want to close your mouth, because I may be "some mentor" but I can be the deciding factor on your life or death. I already don't particularly favor you, so you need to be careful."

"There's David as well."

Elissa snorted and nodded at David. He must've thought it was quite dull, because he was snoring on the couch.

Kayla sighed. "I don't care what you think, because you don't like anyone on this train except for your, like, BFF who you're sitting next to. I don't really think I was much of a competitor in these Games anyways."

"Nice you know your place." Elissa told her.

Kayla rolled her eyes and gave up.

District 9. Yet another 12-year-old.

District 10. A pair of twins. Piper was surprised. Family members almost never got Reaped for the same Games, let alone same age members.

District 11. A strong boy again.

District 12. Twelve-year-old girl and a boy who looked pretty nerdy.

"And that's your competition." Elissa snapped the television off.

Miles laughed. "Dey look padedic."

"And you sound pathetic." Elissa said. "Your nose is going to be quite the challenge for your prep team."

"Dank you." Miles said proudly.

"Wow..." Elissa sighed.

They had another luxurious meal for dinner, and then it was off to bed. In the morning, they would be in the Capitol and tomorrow night, they would be in the parade. Piper went to her comfortable, satin- covered bed. She could get through this, she was sure of it. And she would help Kai avenge Tallulah while surviving.

* * *

The next morning, after a luxurious breakfast, the train screeched to a halt.

"The Capitol." David said.

Piper felt for her token and made sure it was safely on her wrist. Then she went to the train doors and they opened. She wasn't the princess she imagined she had been at age five any more. She was a tribute, and she was the big deal in the Capitol. All she had been when she wasn't such was "the representatives' daughter". Now there were cameras right in her face. But she was ready. She was rushed into the Remake Center, because as soon as she stepped out of that train, four Peacekeepers had taken places around her and reporters, cameramen, and simply overexcited Capitolites attempted to get all up in her face and get pictures and videos. Piper couldn't care less. She faced forward and marched with the Peacekeepers into the building. Everyone was beneath her, like beetles or simply lower life forms. Inside the building, a group of three strange creatures to the Districts, or normal people to the Capitol, who would be her prep team for the Games, quickly ran up to Piper.

"Opening ceremonies!" squealed one of the women, named Aqua, who had dark blue hair, light blue skin, and an assortment of blue clothing. "It's and honor to be working with you, Piper!"

"Um... and you?" Piper didn't know what to say.

"Hee hee!" the strange woman giggled.

"All right, Aqua, enough chatter. We've got to make sure she's the bell of the ball, as the saying goes!" the next prep team member, Moxie, a woman who basically looked like she was born from a bar of gold and a bar of silver. She had normal skin, true, but she had gold hair on her left half of her head and silver on the right, and she had gold stenciled patterns on the right side of her body and silver on the left.

"Yes, yes, oh, I can't wait to see what Art has prepared!" laughed the last member of the team, Mauritius, a man with short, frizzy green hair and black stenciled designs that ran up to his neck.

So they led her into a room and set to work. Almost five hours later, they were finished.

Piper sighed. "Why does this take so long?"

"Oh, you're one of the better ones! I remember when I first started- I had District 12! That girl had so much unwanted hair I could've made a rug!" Aqua gasped. "Horrible."

Piper rolled her eyes.

Moxie gave Aqua a gentle pat on the back. "Well, you've got better people to deal with, now."

Piper rolled her eyes again.

"Well, I think you're ready to meet Art. Aqua, will you please go get him?" Mauritius asked.

Aqua nodded, and then ran out of the room, making her look like an oddly colored ocean wave. She came back a few minutes later, followed by a man who looked like a rainbow threw up on him. "This is Art, your stylist!" she said excitedly.

"Hi." Piper said, emotionless. _Freak_.

"She looks very good- thank you. You three may go." Art dismissed them.

The three hurried out of the room, giggling and laughing.

"Okay, Piper..." Art said. "Are you ready?"

"For what?"

"The opening ceremonies."

"Yes."

"Good. And here's your costume to help with your readiness." Art went to a closet and pulled out a bronze gladiator-style outfit that looked like something Piper saw in a history book at school. "District 2 is ultimately the strongest District, as were the Romans- the bunch that made and wore these outfits. This is what people fought in while they were still around."

"Cool." _A useless piece of history, but it's good he can admit "District 2 is ultimately the strongest District"_.

He helped Piper into the costume and led her downstairs to the chariots- specifically to District 2's- a silver-colored chariot with big brown horses.

Piper looked around. Miles was leaning against the chariot, his prep team and stylist still fussing over his nose, although the break was almost invisible with the miracle stuff that they must have used to cover it up. But of course, Piper did it and saw it, so she knew it was there. Then she saw Kai. He looked like he had when she had last gone to District 4 almost three years ago- strong and healthy, but considerably happier. He was in an ocean-blue tunic with pearls and sea-stars decorating it. He had a wreath of seaweed around his head and was being a goofball, walking around his chariot and striking poses every now and then.

The rest of District 4 looked somewhat familiar. Some she could name, some just looked like people she had seen walking in and out of the training center. She resisted the urge to go over to Kai.

And then she was told to get into the chariot. An announcer's voice rang out and then music boomed. The giant doors swung open and District 1, in a beautiful white chariot with big white stallions leading it, rolled out. Above the music, she could hear the crowd roar. Two of the girls were in flashy gold-painted dresses with gems sewn into the dresses, and noticeable amounts of makeup. The two other girls were in silver-painted dresses with gems sewn into the dresses. Two of the boys had on gold suits with gems sewn into the suits, and the other two in silver. Of course. The Capitol would love them. Then the chariot gave a lurch and they were off.

Bright lights blinded Piper and cheers erupted. Piper's partners began to smile and wave. "Well, if this is how you win sponsors." Piper muttered to herself. She began to wave.

More cheering from behind told her District 3's chariot had rolled out.

After the chariots had reached City Circle, President Rain stepped out onto the balcony. "Welcome," she said. "to the Capitol." she went into a speech but Piper didn't bother to listen. She was looking around, observing the people waving at the chariots and not really focusing on the President. She saw a woman with purple hair. A man with golden skin, golden hair which basically looked like a lion's mane, and whiskers. A woman who was wearing a dress similar to the one she wore at the Reaping. Another one who looked like a walking flowerbed.

Finally, President Rain stopped speaking and they moved into the Training Center. She leaped down from the chariot.

"Nice." Elissa hugged her.

"I really didn't want to wave- it was just cheesy." Piper told her.

"Well, Capitolites are suckers for cheesy. If you blew kisses as well, I could've probably secured you plenty of sponsor deals." Elissa said, laughing. "Too bad for you."

District 4's chariot rolled in and Kai hopped down. "Hey, Piper!" he called.

Piper, in her clanking armor, which was starting to get uncomfortable, ran over to Kai. "Hey!" she said.

Kai hugged her. "What's up? I haven't seen you in a while."

"I just couldn't come back after... um... _it_." Piper said.

Kai looked solemn. "Understandable."

Elissa came over. "Who's he?" she asked.

"This is Kai Henderson-" Piper began, but Kai interrupted.

"I'm a friend of Piper's from District 4. I'm going to be in the Games."

"Nice to meet you." Elissa said. "And I'm sure you know who I am."

"Yes. You killed both of District 4's tributes and became victor of the 98th Hunger Games." Kai said mildly.

Elissa smirked. "Yeah..."

Kai rolled his eyes. "So, Piper, how ya doin'?"

"Good, I guess. You?"

"Even better, knowing I've got a friend here." Kai said. "Oh, and speaking of friends..." he called, "Hey Zane!"

Zane walked over. "What is it, Kai? Oh, hello, Miss Clave." he formally stuck out his hand as though being introduced to a V.I.P.

"Nice to see you, Zane." Piper said evenly.

"You know, now that I think of it, I do regret letting you train with Tallulah. I only pray that you don't end up wiping out District 4 in these Games." Zane's blue eyes glimmered with amusement.

"Too bad for you." Piper laughed.

Jazzie strutted over, in her silly golden wig and shocking pink, ridiculously high heels. "Come along, Piper, Elissa, dinner's to be served soon."

Knowing this would be a long shot, she blurted out, "Can I eat with District 4?"

"Oh, silly dear, you will be eating with them. They will be your allies, and they've already got a big table set up for the occasion." Jazzie nodded. "But why did you request that? Have you made friends so quickly?"

"No, I've known Kai and Zane since I was five."

"How?" Jazzie asked, bewildered. "That's not possible!"

"My parents are District 2 representatives to other Districts and the Capitol. This isn't my first time at the Capitol, either." Piper said.

"Well, then..." Jazzie's voice trailed off. "Time for you to see your quarters! They're not going to be anything you've ever seen before!" she grabbed Piper's wrist and dragged her into an elevator. Elissa chased after them.

Shooting up skywards, Piper had the quickest elevator ride of her life. Then Jazzie pulled her out of the elevator and then opened the door to one of the rooms on the second floor.

Piper gasped. It was the most technologically-advanced room she had ever seen. Panels and panels of blinking buttons. A window that served as something like a telescope. A huge, high-definition television, and a closet with a bunch of buttons, and could be programed to an outfit of your taste. It was also the most luxurious room she had ever seen. A giant, comfortable, soft bed. Puffy armchairs. Soft blue walls. A very fluffy carpet.

Piper nodded to Jazzie and Elissa and shut the door, programed the closet to a suitable outfit, relieved to get out of the armor. She then walked out, and miraculously found the dining room herself, taking the empty seat between Kai and Elissa.

It was a lovely dinner. Avoxes walked around, keeping everyone's plates and glasses full, ready at a moment's notice if something was requested. Piper was able to catch up with Kai, making up for time lost from over two years. Then the mentors began to talk strategy.

"Strengthen your defensive and attack skills." a District 1 mentor, named Lux, told them.

"Work with weapons you're struggling with." Elissa nodded.

"Try some things you don't know," added Zane. "You never know what'll happen."

"So in other words, do everything." Jade, a District 1 girl, scoffed.

"Indeed." Zane nodded. "But you want to work with things you know first. You know, to intimidate the other tributes."

"I'd love to do that." Corvin, one of Piper's District partners, grinned. "The meek are easily frightened."

"Well, you saw the kids who were Reaped. Not all of them are meek." Sapphire, the other District 1 mentor, replied.

"They can all be intimidated," Corvin argued. "As long as you hit their weakness."

"I suppose. So make sure you hit that weakness. Especially if they don't ally themselves with you." Sapphire swept the tributes with a cold stare.

Well, then they had quite a full training schedule.

* * *

**Any feedback would be greatly appreciated ;) And feel free to check out my SYOT! I still need tributes!**


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Piper woke up feeling refreshed, energized, and ready. She put on the training outfit left at the end of her bed and walked to the the dining hall, where Elissa, David, Melanie, Alex, and Miles, whose nose had a noticeable break in it now that all the makeup was gone, where already indulging in the great breakfast that had been prepared.

Piper slid into the seat next to Elissa, and began to pile her plate high with pancakes, bacon, and sausage. She poured herself a tall glass of orange juice and began to devour it all. "Delicious!" she mumbled through a mouthful of pancake.

Elissa scoffed. "Didn't your mummy ever tell you not to talk with your mouth full?"

"Yeah... but I never really paid much attention." Piper laughed.

Elissa smiled and rolled her eyes.

The rest of District 2 joined them.

Tyson, the last boy from District 2 to get up, gawked at the amount of food on the table. "Holy cow, I thought rich meals 24/7 were just a myth!"

"Nope." David smiled. "Very real."

Tyson shrugged. "Works for me." he slid into his seat and began to eat.

As soon as breakfast was over, they were led down to the training center. Districts 1, 6, 8, and 9 were already there. District 1 looked even more muscular without the suits and dresses on. Districts 6, 8, and 9 looked meek and almost ill. The twelve-year-old boy from District 9 was trembling, and the twelve-year-old-girl from 6 was biting her nails. The one from 8, as brave as she was trying to be, was biting her lip and looked close to tears.

As soon as all Districts had filed in, a tall, stocky man, who introduced himself as Atlas, the head trainer, welcomed them, and ran through a list of all the stations there were, and a brief description of each. He also warned the tributes not to get into fights with another, and to practice with another human, assistants were available. After about an hour, he released them, and they were off.

"What's today?" Piper asked, running up to join Kai and one of the other District 4 boys, named Max.

"Intimidation Day." Kai laughed. "Zane says that today's goal is to scare the crap outta everyone else." they reached the trident station, and Kai picked up one of the biggest ones in the pile and studied it.

"Works for me." Piper nodded. "But this isn't my best weapon, so... see ya!" she jogged off and joined Darren, a District 1 boy, and Tulia, a District 4 girl, at the sword-fighting station and the motioned for one of the assistants to come over and almost immediately they began to fight.

She ducked to avoid the swipe of the sword from the assistant and realized she was being watched. The twelve-year-old boys from Districts 7 and 9 were staring at her, mouths open, eyes wide. One of the District 5 boys gawked at her. Oh, so only it was then that the kid realized he was done for?

A surge of fury swept through Piper, and she gave another vicious swipe. The sword flew out of her opponent's hands and lodged itself into the wall. She moved forward and pushed the trainer into the wall, and held the sword up to her throat. "I win." she said simply, and dropped her sword, and walked over to the knife-throwing station.

She looked around. From above, several of the Gamemakers were watching the tributes with careful eyes, while others were eyeing the banquet table being set up for them. Near the Gamemakers, but not ever meeting with them, or in the same room, the mentors were walking around, saying things to others, greeting some like old friends. For the first time since his Victory Tour, almost three years ago, she saw him, in person. Kyle Hesson. And he was talking to one of District 3's mentors, Calvin Seinfeld, who won the 85th Hunger Games. Anger hit her so hard that she felt like she could fall over. She marched over to the knife-throwing station, grabbed the cruelest blade she could find, and launched it up towards the glass.

Two tributes- Piper could only identify that they were female- screamed as the knife lodged itself into the glass.

Crap. It was really thick glass.

But Kyle noticed, and Calvin did as well. Calvin moved off, and Kyle looked down, shocked. Piper stared defiantly at him, and as soon as their eyes, meet, he knew who she was. When he was on the Victory Tour, she had been in District 4, so she was at his speech there and in District 2. That had also been the visit where she had gone to Tallulah's grave. With special permission, she was allowed to stand on the platform designated for a dead tribute's family and friends. She had stared at him the whole time with such hatred that when he noticed her, Piper was almost sure that he'd seen him tremble. And in District 2, where she was in the regular crowd, she continued her stare of hatred. He'd seen her both times, she knew that.

Piper curled her lip and stomped back to the spear-throwing station, launching them at dummies, imagining them all with Kyle's face. Then she realized that the Gamemakers were staring at her, as well. She saw them muttering to each other, and almost immediately realized that the Gamemakers thought she was mad. Which, she even had to admit, she may very well be.

She groaned. In her vain attempt to somehow avenge Tallulah, the only thing in the world that she was aware of that her best friend's killer was standing basically twenty feet above her head. She wasn't thinking of the Gamemakers, and how this could affect what they thought of her, and how long she could last in the Games. No matter. At this point, she couldn't care if she died or not, as long as she killed the District 5 boys.

She shook her head and then moved back to the 10-feet mark. She managed to spear the dummy in the heart, and she did this until forty feet, where she got the stomach. Whatever. The enemy would die from it anyways.

After lunch, they agreed that half of them would work with things that they didn't know very well. From District 1, they had the girls named Ruby and Jade, and the boys named Caleb and Darren, from District 2 they had Melanie, Kayla, Miles, and Alex. From District 4, a girl named Tulia, a girl named Brooke, and two boys named Lawrence and Max. They had gotten into an argument over whether Piper should go, but they agreed that she was already doing an excellent job intimidating the other tributes and should continue doing so.

So she got to spend the afternoon with Kai, fooling around with the knives. The trainer seemed somewhat uneasy around Piper from that morning's... incident, as some may called it, but also showed them a new way to throw the knife so it had more power and distance.

She left Kai and joined up with Corvin, a District 4 girl named Nikki, and a District 1 boy named Duke, and they used maces for a little bit, Corvin swung it close to the nerdy-looking District 12 boy who was struggling to even to pick the thing up, while the four of them were going full-force. The boy jumped, and his glasses fell off of his face. Wide-eyed, he picked them up and backed away to the edible bugs station.

The four of them burst out laughing, and after some more time, Piper and Nikki tramped over to the axe-throwing station, where the strong District 7 boy was helping his twelve-year-old partner with some aiming techniques. Nikki grinned and then threw an axe at the target. It hit one of the other axes buried in the target, and that one flipped backwards and was buried into the floor.

It was a good day.

* * *

The good times continued the next day, where she worked with tridents, bow-and-arrow, and scythes.

In the afternoon, she worked with the natural things. That was not as good. She couldn't really make a fire unless she had matches or flint, she nearly ate some poisonous berries and bugs, both times the trainer had to slap the things out of her hand before they got into her mouth. But she was okay with her knot-tying skills and excelled at tying snares. She was also proficient at hammock-making.

But of course, those all come back to knots.

* * *

Finally, the last day. Private sessions with the Gamemakers. As soon as they were down, they were lined up for their turn. Piper was the first person from District 2 to go.

After about an hour of waiting for District 1 to be finished, a voice rang out over the intercom just above the door where they would enter.

"Piper Clave, please come into the training room."

Piper stood up, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Then she walked into the room.

The Gamemakers weren't having their giant meal yet, for it was only about 9:15. So they were all intent on Piper.

"Miss Clave," the Head Gamemaker, Cornelius Shaw, cleared his throat. "Before you begin, was your knife incident, which seemed directed at District 5's mentor Kyle Hesson, real or an accident?"

Piper considered this for a minute. So they didn't exactly think she was mad. She had a chance to save herself from being the "mad girl" and wouldn't be targeted to be killed, to ensure they didn't have a lunatic of a victor. But they already seemed to think it was purposeful. "Well, it was something... more purposeful, I guess." she said. _Hoo, boy..._ she wasn't sure if she said the right thing anymore. She didn't know if that made her mad, vicious, or plain strange.

The Head Gamemaker didn't exactly look convinced, but nodded. "Thank you. You are free to begin, Miss Clave."

Piper looked around. What should she begin with? She took a dummy, some rope, and then climbed a pile of sandbags and hung the dummy from the ceiling. Then she took a collection of weapons, and one by one, attacked it. First, she hit the dummy in the forehead with a knife. Then she ended up taking off one of the dummy's feet with an axe. She speared it in the heart, used a trident and got it in the stomach, used a bow and arrow and got it in the face. Then, to top it off, she took a scythe and sliced it in half.

The Gamemakers eyes were wide.

"Well, then, is that it?" Cornelius asked.

"No." Piper said plainly, and took a sword and sliced the rope holding up the top of the dummy. "Now."

"Thank you, you may go." Cornelius dismissed her.

Later that day, after dinner, District 2 went to their screening room for the revealing of the training scores. It started at 7:30 precisely, starting with District 1. Three of them got an eight, two got a nine, and three got a ten.

District 2. Piper pulled a ten, a number she was quite proud of. Melanie pulled an eight, as did Kayla. Sadie got a nine. Corvin got the highest of them all, with a twelve. Alex got a eleven, as did Miles. Tyson got a nine.

District 3. They got from threes to the highest, a seven, which only one of the girls got.

District 4. Two of the girls got an eight, one got a nine, and the last one got an eleven. Kai got an eleven as well. Two of the boys got a ten, and the last one got a nine.

District 5. Lousy scores for all of them but one. Lightning, the boy who volunteered for his brother, got an eight. She didn't really pay attention to the boys besides Kyle. But now she had to plan. Lightning had to be her main target, if he was talented enough to get such a high score.

District 6. The strong boy got an eight, the twelve-year-old a six, and the merchant's daughter a five.

District 7. The strong boy got a ten. The little boy got a seven.

District 8. The twelve-year-old got a six.

District 9. The twelve-year-old got a five.

District 10. The twins got the same score- a seven.

District 11. The strong boy got a nine.

District 12. The nerdy-looking boy got a three, and the twelve-year-old got a five.

Piper grimaced. All of the others got low-to-medium scores, except for a few lucky ones. She was ready.

* * *

**A bit of pre-game violence... hope you liked the chapter, please R&R!**


	5. Chapter 5

The next day was preparing for the interviews.

Piper got up a little later than she had for the last three days, but not much. They still had so much to do, and her awakening included Jazzie and the other three girls sitting on the end of her bed, waiting for her to get up.

"Thank you for the rude awakening!" Piper yelled at them when her eyes opened. She reached for a pillow and flung it at them. Melanie rolled her eyes and ducked as it flew over her head.

"Whatever. Piper, get up. I've already ordered the breakfast, we're eating in here." Jazzie said.

"Grr..." Piper tossed her sheets off and got out of bed, and stomped into the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face, detangling her hair and tucking it into a quick ponytail. She'd brush her teeth after breakfast.

Food had arrived while she was gone. So they wolfed down a quick-but-delicious breakfast and got to work.

Jazzie had them walking around in ridiculously high heels and long dresses that she'd gotten from the closet.

Piper groaned as she tripped over her dress for the third time and ended up face-first in her carpet.

"Come on, Miss Clave, it isn't that hard!" Jazzie exclaimed, grabbing her wrist and pulling her up.

_Well, you do it, so obviously not._ "Well, try telling that to all of us!" she snapped as Sadie tripped, tried to grasp Piper's bed for support and just ended up pulling off the comforter but landing on it.

"Jazzie, this is ridiculous." moaned Kayla. "My feet hurt so much, and I've only been in these things for a half-an-hour!"

"Yeah. And do you think our stylists are going to put us in such things?!" Sadie tripped again and fell onto Piper's bed.

"They're going to put you in something that goes with your dress, and that makes you look good!" Jazzie then slapped Kayla's ankle. "That dress does not go above the knee!"

Kayla took a tumble and nearly banged her head on the door. "Ow!" she yelled.

Jazzie crossed her arms. "You have to learn."

"Still, ouch!" Kayla sat against the door, making no attempt to get up.

Melanie, who was having the best luck with the heels, sat down in one of the chairs. "What else is there to do?"

"Smile." Jazzie said. "And perfect your walk in those heels! Up, up, up!"

After two more hours, Jazzie allowed them to take off the heels. But then she made them smile like crazy. Piper's jaw muscles hurt from overuse.

Finally, they got to switch with the boys, so Piper and the other girls got to figure out their angles for the interviews with Elissa and David.

"Elissa, how did you deal with Jazzie?" Piper groaned, lowering herself into a chair across from her friend.

"Beats me." Elissa shrugged. "Now, you ready to find your angle? Although I already know what yours is. We've been over this."

"Aggressive and snarky." Piper smiled.

"Yeppers. Now, let's deal with you." Elissa smiled at Sadie.

David had Melanie and Kayla, but Piper wasn't complaining. Out of the female tributes, she like Sadie the best.

Elissa's first thought was Sadie could go for sexy, but after an interview of her attempting to be so, she ruled it out and went for bold. That worked better, but not really. It took two hours to find Sadie's, but they went for "cool" and relaxed.

The next day belonged to the prep team. They styled her hair so that is was piled on her head, took off any hair that had grown back since the opening ceremonies, and added her makeup, which mostly went with red and a firey orange. Of course, she wasn't going to end up like a District 12 tribute whose whole Games style was centered around flames. But she got the feeling it could be a style of bloodlust or something along those lines.

When Art got her, she was put in short red heels, much shorter than the ones Jazzie had her strutting in, and a long, blood-red dress, with thick shoulder straps.

Art led her to the stage, where he left her.

She had about a half-an-hour to hang before a harried, harassed-looking man muttering into a mouthpiece started to line the tributes. She was the second-to-last female for District 2. Meaning she was the fifteenth person to go.

They filed onto the stage. Bright lights blinded Piper as the Capitol people cheered ever so loudly for them- so loud that Piper felt like she may be deaf after this.

Since there were so many tributes, not a moment was wasted and Caesar Flickerman, who had been the host of the Games since around Game 35, started off immediately.

By the time it was Piper's turn, she was bored out of her mind. And they weren't even a fourth of the way through. Piper made her way to the chair across from Caesar.

"Hello, Piper Clave of District 2!" Caesar greeted her warmly.

"Hello, Caesar Flickerman of the Capitol."

The audience laughed.

"So, Piper, how are you doing?" Caesar transitioned into the interview.

"Great." Piper shrugged noncommittally.

"That's good..." Caesar nodded. "So, how has your time in the Capitol been?"

"Some old, same old. I've been to the Capitol before. But I suppose this is special, because I'm here as a tribute."

"Hm..." Piper definitely wasn't making this easy for Caesar, and she could see that.

"Well, let's talk about that training score, huh? A ten, I believe?"

"Yep."

"How did you get such a high score in ttraining?" Caesar smiled.

"Oh, just training hard, focusing..."

"Okay, then. And on the topic of training, sources told me that on the first day, you fired a knife up near one of the mentors. Can you confirm or deny this?"

Piper glanced at the Gamemakers. She knew that training things were often kept quiet, but this seemed different. The Gamemakers just shrugged at her. "Well, Caesar, all I can say is that I have some scores to settle in these Games, so if someone wants to get between me and those scores, all I can say is that they better watch out."

The audience had mixed emotions. Some gasped. Some laughed. Some began to mutter to their neighbors. Others looked at her with an interest. Piper looked down and found Elissa, who was smiling.

"Oh my..." Caesar, as well, was at loss of words. "How about your family?"

Piper laughed coldly. "You mean, what do they feel about my scores that must be settled? I'm not sure if they understand the full value of it. Except for maybe my brother."

"Oh my..." Caesar said. "Might I interest you in changing the subject?"

"I like this girl!" a voice rang out from the crowd.

Suddenly, the room turned into madness. The people in the crowd screaming and cheering, the tributes from Districts 3, and 5-12 looked extremely uncomfortable, afraid that their District was the score Piper had to settle. But the kid who Piper directed this to knew who he was. But the extra intimidation was good.

The buzzer went off and Piper said a quick good-bye to Caesar and sat back in her normal seat.

"Nailed it." she whispered to Kai, who was a row behind her.

"Indeed- you said it all."

Kai was more cheerful through his interview, but there were still hints of fury that, based on Kyle Hesson's expression, knew were directed to him. Kai was most certainly saner and more relaxed than Piper, but he wouldn't pass up on a chance to avenge his girlfriend.

Piper went to bed feeling ready for the Games and satisfied that the tributes were intimidated.


	6. Author's Note: Please Read

**Okay. Bad news. My mom is making me discontinue all of my current Hunger Games projects- even this one. I'm really sorry, but I can't just go against her and continue it.**

**Feel free to adopt this story, I really wanted to continue this, but I can't. **

**-Just let me know if you're going to adopt this.**

**And a story because I don't want to get reported:**

* * *

The Hunger Games are games where the cruel, evil Capitol makes twenty-four or more tributes go against each other and kill each other. Only one will make it out alive and will be scarred for life with what they have been through.

* * *

**Again, I'm really sorry. (And note that this discontinuation does not involve any Warriors projects, all of those will be continued. And who knows, maybe I'll even update the things I've put on hiatus once in awhile. :)**

**EDIT: moonsoul da great has been granted permission to adopt this.**


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